


If You Heard

by doiebites



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 09:15:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18870241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doiebites/pseuds/doiebites
Summary: It should be said this story isn't presented in an ordinary world; but in a world without color, where people fight every day to survive in lands without laws or rules, and most of the time, it's innocent people who pay the price for just being the way of others' greed. But hope still survives, and shows up in the most unpredictable settings.Sometimes, it comes as something as simple as a cry.





	If You Heard

It should be said this story isn't presented in an ordinary world; but in a world without color, where people fight every day to survive in lands without laws or rules, and most of the time, it's innocent people who pay the price for just being the way of others' greed. But hope still survives, and shows up in the most unpredictable settings.

Sometimes, it comes as something as simple as a cry.

 

_The wreck this place is in..._

Yuta lowered his gun as he got deeper inside the building he remembered being in perfect conditions two days ago. As the news that the terrorist group Plasma had bombarded the place, not bothered by the hundreds of innocents sitting inside living their lives, their boss had sent a group of four - Taeil, Johnny, Doyoung and him - to check the place and look for anything that could indicate why this happened.

His stomach took an unpleasant turn when he entered a room, seeing scatered bodies laying on the ground in unnatural poses and even less natural holes in it. They spared no one, not even the youngest child, and it revolted him. If only he had known, if only they had been warned beforehand, these people could have all been saved.

"How does someone have such lack of empathy to do something like this and not feel a bit of remorse..." Taeil's voice cracked from his communicator, and he didn't reply, silently agreeing as he turned around and left to another room. 

The concrete and detritus cracked loudly under his feet, making Yuta hold tighter to his gun. He hated having to do these recognition missions; it only reminded him of how disgusting some people could be, and the images of all the bodies he saw plagued him at night, often giving him nightmares and keeping him awake. 

He was crossing another room - a kitchen, he assumed - when he heard it. 

A quiet, but unmistakable cry of a child. 

Yuta froze in his steps for a moment, afraid he was hearing things; and for a second he was convinced of that. But then he heard it again, coming from near him.   
His heart was racing while he searched for the source; he couldn't belive that after years of this, he was finding someone alive in a broken down place.

The kitchen was definitely the source place, so he walked inside and scanned it, looking for possible hiding places. There were too many; the table, fallen facing the wall, the cabinets, even the fridge or the oven. He checked all of those places, and then found him, inside a cabinet on the floor.

A little boy, no older than three years old.

His mother had most definitely hid him in there, warned by the noise and screams in the lower floor. She couldn't save herself - her body was laid down behind the fallen table the terrorists shot at - but she died knowing that at least her precious son would be safe. 

Yuta had opened the door slowly, but it still frightened the child, who crawled deeper inside whimpering in fear. That broke his heart but he still smiled, speaking quietly and softly to calm him.

"Hi buddy. It's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you. What's your name?"

The boy spoke so quietly he barely heard him, but he managed to understand it.

"Jeno."

"That's a pretty name. My name is Yuta. You're safe now, you can come out."

The boy didn't move for a bit, hidden by the shadows, but when he was about to ask him again he slowly crawled closer. Yuta reached out his arms, waiting for him to come out by himself since forcing him out would obviously not be advisable.

He was almost fully out when loud steps echoed not far, and Jeno went back inside in fear. Yuta's hand went to his gun's holder by instinct, staring at the open door.

He breathed out in relief and relaxed when he saw Doyoung crossing the door frame, asking him what he was doing kneeled down on the floor. He ignored the question, turning his head back to the cabinet and speaking in an even softer tone. 

"Hey, it's alright, it's my best friend. Come out, we'll take you to somewhere safe, I promise."

Doyoung stared at him like he had grown an extra head, but thirty seconds later his eyes went wide as he saw a little boy come out of the dirty cabinet, his brown hair full of dust and wide, also brown eyes looking at him while he decided whether or not he seemed friendly.

"That's Doyoung. You can call him Doie if you want too." Yuta said, opening his arms again to let him come closer. "Come on. It's alright."

Jeno took two seconds to decide they were trustworthy and quickly crawled into the older's arms, holding to his shirt with his small hands like his life depended on it.

Yuta got up with the boy in his chest, holding him protectively. Doyoung was still speechless looking at the scene, not believing the miracle that had just happened.

After informing the other duo of their finding - they had come running to the kitchen to make sure they weren't lying - Doyoung asked what they were going to do now.

Taeil answered in the middle of making funny faces to make Jeno smile, the giggle the little boy let out making all of them melt.

"We take him in and take care of him. As simple as that."

 

"No no no! How many times do I need to tell you, you are fighters, not babysitters!"

Yuta interrupted the boss before he could make another comment.

"All due respect sir, but we're not asking for permission."

The whole group was standing inside the biggest room in their headquarters, that obviously served as both the boss' room and reunion room. Well, all except Taeil; he was in another room, taking care of Jeno and introducing him to his son of the same age, Donghyuck, who he had rescued two years ago.

"My decision is final. You are not keeping another baby in this place, it's already hard enough to deal with the troublemaker Donghyuck is!"

"If you call Hyuck a troublemaker one more time-"

Jaehyun pulled Sicheng back before he could charge at the boss; he was usually the first to complain to Taeil how "energetic" their son was, but he didn't admit no one else to say it.

Doyoung spoke to keep the boss from saying anything.

"All of us here agree on keeping Jeno with us and taking care of him, so there's nothing you can do. You can't change our minds."

The boss sighed in defeat and sat at his chair in front of the desk.

"You're all stubborn as all hell, but fine. Responsibilities are all yours on this." he looked at the group. "So, who's gonna take care of the kid?" 

"Me." two voices echoed at the same time.

Yuta and Doyoung looked at each other, surprised.

The older was the obvious choice; he was the one who found and caught Jeno's trust, after all. On the other hand, Doyoung had spent all the ride back home with the boy in his lap, playing with him and answering all the questions the now very talkative baby had with a smile on his face; Yuta couldn't deny the instant connection the two had, and the protective instinct his friend showed since the moment he saw him.

"Well? Which one of you then?"

Doyoung prepared to tell the boss that he'd let his friend take care of him, but the smile that showed on Yuta's face on a sudden stopped him, waiting for him to decide for them instead.

Yuta turned to the boss to give him the final decision. It was the most obvious too.

"Us, then. We'll do it together."


End file.
